Advertising apparatus.



R. S. BLAIR.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1909.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

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R. S. BLAIR.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, I909.

Tm: COLUMBIA PLAI lllflkAPfl co., WASHINGTON, D. C.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

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ROBERT s. BLAIR, or sour onANGE, Npw JERSEY.

ADVERTISING arrrimrrps.

Specification o1. Letters Patent.

P ented Feb- .8, 191! Application filed July 9, 190.). Serial No. 506,643.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ronnn'r S. BLAIR, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Advertising Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relatesto advertising apparatus.

.One of the objects thereof is to provide simple and practical apparatus of the best type peculiarly adapted for use in cars.

Another object is to provide eilicientand reliable driving mechanism for advertising signs having moving parts.

Another object is to provide apparatus of the above nature, characterized by durable, compact and inexpensive construction, and quiet and efiicient action.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing wherein is shown one of various possible embodiments of this invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation thereof. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan taken substantially on the line zvm of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detailed plan showing a guide. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail taken on the line fl/.fl/ of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detailed plan of parts of a driving mechanism. Fig. .6 is a rear elevation of parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on theline zz of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a detailed view of a portion of a card-holder. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of an entire card-holder taken substantially on the line aa of Fig. 8.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout several views of the drawings.

In order to render clearer certain features of this invention it may here be noted that in advertising apparatus and particularly apparatus of this nature for use in railway cars, the parts are exposed to sudden shocks,

jarring and hard usage and yet should be compactly disposed as the avallable space 15 limited. To achieve this reliability in action and compactness of arrangement without an undue crowding or complication of the parts is one of the aims of this invention. It may also be noted that in the use of advertising signs if it is sought to display a large number of advertisements to the passengers of a car by rapidly parading them past his field of vision there is a tendency to a confused impression which materially lessens the desired effect. WVith stationary apparatus, however, the number of signs Within the convenient view of a passenger is less than might be effectively displayed. The provision of practical means whereby the advertisi11,2 space of a car is increased without detracting from the eifect produced by the individual signs is another of the dominant aims of this invention.

Referring to Fig. l'of the drawings there is shown a frame comprising the upper strip 1 and the lower strip 2 suitably connected one with another and adapted to be mounted upon a car wall. Upon the lower side of strip 1 and the upper side of strip 2 are mounted a plurality of guides 3, the construction of one of which only will be described in detail as they are substantially identical in form.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4t the guide member 5} is formed ,of a metal angle piece having a portion of its horizontal flange it turned upwardly as at 5 to provide a channel 6. Upon the unturned portion 7 of the flange 4 is rigidly mounted a card-holder hereinafter described in detail, this member being secured in any desired manner between portions 7 of the upper and lower guides. 'lhere is thus provided a trough-like guide which formed by the channel portion ,6 and by the angle portion completed by h rea surface .of the card-holder fixed thereon. Within the guides are .slidably mounted movable cardholders 9, each of which is adapted to oscillate from position at the rear of one of the fixed holders ,8 to a position in front of another of said holders, this movement being permitted by reason of the inclined disposition of the guides as indicated at 10. The construction of these movable card holders, which is substantially identical with that ,of the fixed card-holders, is indicated in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, and comprises a sheet-metal plate 11 curved as at 12 and having its edges folded inwardly at 13 and 11. Within thefolds 13 is a rod 15 to stiffen the same and within the fold 14 is a movable rod 16 urged downwardly by a spring 17 to a position limited by the shoulder 18 formed upon the edge of the holder.

An advertisingcard 19 is readily inserted in V A of the movable signs. By a proper spacing.

this holder by placing the same Within the fold 13 upon the rod 15 and forcing its upper edge into the fold 14, any inequality in width being taken up by the rod 16. The card is then forced inwardly against the holder and is held firmly and smoothly in position by reason of the action of the spring The movable holders 9 are formed of a length materially greater than that of the cards 19 whereby both edges of the card are exposed as indicated at 20, upon the movable holders being thrown outwardly, thus facilitating the insertion and removal of the cards.

Secured to the rear surface of each movable holder 9 is a lug 21, each of these lugs being connected to a rod 22 extending throughout the length'of the apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 6 of the drawings there are shown downwardly extending abutments 23 and 24 formed upon or secured to the rod 22. These abutments are adapted tobe engaged by a headed pin 25 upon a sprocket chain 26 passing over sprocket wheels 27 and 28 journaled upon the frame of the apparatus; The shaft of the sprocket wheel 27 is driven by a chain from a wheel 29 which is driven in turn through a suitable worm and worm wheel connection from a motor 30. V

The abutments 23 and 24 are spaced preferably at a distance substantially equal to twice the length of travel of the moving signs and. the distance between the outermost pointsof the sprocket chain 26 exceeds the distance between the inner surface of these abutments by a distance exactly equal to the desired travel of the signs.

The pin 25 is formed as shown in Fig. 5 in the drawings to permit outward and inward movement of the abutments 23 and 24 due to the inclined disposition of the signs 9 and there is provided a suitable guide 31 and pin-25 will travel up to its point of engagement with the abutment 24 before the signs are moved. During the further travel of this pin to itspassage about the sprocket wheel 28 the abutment 24 with rod 22 and all of the movable signs are moved to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6 of the drawings. From this point the pin 25 continues-its travel with the lower part of the chain without afi'ecting the signs until it reaches the abutment 23 which now occupies the position indicated by the dotted lines. Further movement carries this abutment in a direction toward the motor to the position shown in full lines, thus again retracting all of abutments 23 and 24 and a proper length of chain 26 any desired time of movement or rest of the signs may be readily attained.

It will also be noted that the entire driving mechanism may be confined to a short space at one end of the sign even though the latter is of such length as to connect a large number of individual card-holders. Furthermore, the arrangement of parts is such that they will be uneifected by wear and cannot be thrown out of action even by severe arrmg. Thls reciprocating movement of the rod 22 alternately throws the several.

over, not only is the efiectiveness of the advertisements not impaired but they are more firmly impressed upon the beholder, due to their own movement and to their reiterated concealment and exposure.

. It will be seen that there is thus provided an apparatus in which the several objects of this invention are achieved and in which the above described and other advantages are attained.

The action is effective, the construction is cheap and reliable and the entire apparatus is well suited to meet the hardest pracabove construction and many apparently' widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall 7 be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that thelanguage used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and spe- I cific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the inventlon which, as a matter of lan- 1 guage, might be said to fall therebetween. 1

unitary signs mounted in said frame in in- T cllned positions, a plurallty of movable uni- 5 tary signs, a plurality of pairs of upper and lower guides mounted in said frame, each guide extending in an inclined position from the front of one of said fixed signs to the rear of the neighboring sign and having mounted therein said movable signs, a member connected to each of said movable signs, and means adapted to reciprocate said memher.

2. In apparatus of the nature described, in combination, a pair of fixed signs, a pair of guides extending forwardly of one of said signs and to the rear of the other thereof, a sign mounted within said guides and adapted to move from a position back of one of said fixed signs to a position forward of the other of said fixed signs, and means adapted to move said movable sign, each of said guides comprising a channel shaped portion forwardly of one fixed sign and an angle portion at the rear of the other fixed sign.

3. In apparatus of the nature described, in combination, a frame, a plurality of fixed signs mounted in said frame, a plurality of movable unitary signs mounted in said frame in an inclined position, means adapted to guide said movable signs between said fixed signs into positions respectively in front of said fixed signs, and means adapted simultaneously to move said movable signs into and out of said positions, said guides being adapted to engage said movable signs at their upper and lower edges.

l. In apparatus of the nature described, in combination, a frame, a plurality of fixed card holders mounted within said frame in inclined positions, guides mounted upon the upper and lower members of said frame and extending from positions at the rear of said fixed card holders to positions forwardly thereof, a plurality of movable card holders positioned in said guides, a member connected with said several movable card holders and provided with a pair of projecting portions, an endless chain mounted to travel in an upright plane and provided with a projecting member adapted alternately to engage said portions and reciprocate said movable signs throughout a distance substantially equal to their length, and means adapted to drive said chain.

5. In apparatus of the nature described, in combination, a horizontal support, a plurality of stationary sign holders disposed in different planes on said support, a plurality of sign holders disposed in different planes and movable on said support, guides extending in front and rear of the stationary sign holders, and means adapted to automatically move the movable sign holders in the guides into and out of position opposite the stationary sign holders.

6. In appa 'atus of the nature described, in combination, a horizontal support, a curved unitary sign fixed in said support in an inclined position, a curved unitary sign movable in said support, guides extending to the rear of said fixed sign and in front of a second lixed sign, said guides adapted to engage said movable sign at its upper and lower edges and guide the same from a position to the rear of said first fixed sign to a position in front of said second fixed sign, and means adapted to reciprocate said movable sign in said guides into and out of said positions.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT S. BLAIR.

WVitnesses HELEN M. SEAMANS, PAUL A. Wonrr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

